


Unsaid Promises

by MisguidedFeelingsofaDreamWeaver30



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame, F/M, Fluff, Natasha and Steve are practically married, Team as Family, romanogers - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 09:59:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18848749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisguidedFeelingsofaDreamWeaver30/pseuds/MisguidedFeelingsofaDreamWeaver30
Summary: If only she knew how she was so much more than her past. How she had been almost everything for everyone: a friend, a sister, an aunt, an agent, an ally, a leader, a hero, a mother, even a lover.Natasha was something to Steve, too.





	1. I take you to be my wife

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm a little late to the Romanogers fandom. But this was a little something I wanted to write in light of Endgame. I've loved these two since they first appeared in Avengers (2012) together, and I will go down with this ship. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Captain, as you are new to our organisation, I thought it best to partner you with a familiar face,” Nick Fury tells the newest SHIELD agent, Steve Rogers.

Steve raises an eyebrow at Fury’s words, before the doors to the office open to reveal a familiar red head, her hair a little past her shoulders and her green eyes glinting mysteriously. Her lips tilt up in a smirk. “Captain.”

“Agent Romanoff. You’re my new partner? What happened to Barton?” Steve asks.

“Barton’s taking time to recover after New York and Loki. Until then, looks like you’re stuck with me,” she teases.

“Unless you have any objections, Captain?” Fury interjects, his eye going back and forth between the two.

Steve’s lips tilt up into a smile. It was better than anticipated if he was honest with himself. It was nice to have a little familiarity in a place that he was still trying to figure out. “None at all, sir.”


	2. For better or for worst

Steve runs a hand through his hair, staring off into the distance as he watches the horizon. What he had seen in that vision had been like a punch to the gut, yanking him back to a long-lost past. He had been making progress, learning to find a footing in the 21st century. He was healthier than he had been in his youth, had found a team that, despite their differences, was a family to him, and a job that he loved. He had everything he could want, except…

“Hey.”  He turns around to find Natasha standing there, leaning against the porch as she surveyed him. “Penny for your thoughts?”

He chuckles. “My thoughts aren’t worth that much.”

She scoffs. “Please, many people would love to hear what the Star-Spangled Man with the Plan has on his mind outside of saving the world.” She sits down beside him, leaving enough space that their pinkies barely brush. “Would help you find someone with shared life experience,” she points out.  

“I don’t even know if that’s for me anymore,” he confesses. His eyes take in the barn that housed a rusty old tractor, while his hands absentmindedly rubbed the wood of the Barton homestead. He can hear the excited jabber of Clint’s children as they chat up the various Avengers before them. He catches the whiff of many different things: pot roast, shaved wood, even wet dog. It all culminated in a sensation of home that he hadn’t known since he came out of the ice.

“And why would you think that?” Natasha asks, tilting her head towards him, much like she did on that road trip to New Jersey. “It’s been done before, you know.”

“Clint’s got something to come home to.” Steve bows his head. “The last woman I wanted that with already lived that life.”

Natasha sardonically chuckles. “For a guy who’s too busy to date, you sure seem eager to find someone to share your life with.”

“Just not good at letting go, I guess,” he admits. He turns to his partner, noting the pensive look on her face, rubbing her abdomen. He remembers how shaken she had looked on the quinjet; he had never seen her like that, not even when she had found out that HYDRA had infiltrated SHIELD.

“What did you see?” he asks softly. Natasha doesn’t say anything for a while, and he contents himself with watching the scenery before him. If he had his sketchpad with him…

“The Red Room,” Natasha says so quietly that if it weren’t for his super hearing, he would have only heard a wispy breath. He’s heard of it: a particular branch of the KGB that had been known to raise assassins from birth.

“To them, I was nothing more than a trained weapon.” She rubs her abdomen once more, and Steve’s eyes flicker there. “They made sure of that during the graduation ceremony.” Her voice grows breathless, and Steve witnesses a rare vulnerability in his otherwise stoic partner. “The life that Clint has here, with Laura and the kids, it’s something I can’t have.” She meets his eyes, green clashing with blue. “You’re not the only one who missed out on this life.”

For a long time, neither of them says anything. This is uncharted territory for both, and it feels dangerous to push it farther than what was confessed tonight. However, Steve suddenly finds someone with that shared life experience.


	3. For richer or for poorer

Steve quietly pushes the door open, as Sam and Wanda come in, simple paper bags in hand. Steve carries a tray, a little cake, some coffee and a rolled-up piece of paper lying beside it. However, to their disappointment, Natasha isn’t in bed.  

“You three suck at surprises,” a voice from behind them says. They whip around, though Wanda is less startled than the two men. Natasha chuckles at their faces from the bathroom doorway.  

“Jeez, Romanoff, you could at least humour us,” Sam jibes, with a smile on his face.

“And miss the chance to pull one over you guys? I have a reputation to maintain, Wilson,” she retorts as she goes to sit on the bed. Her eyes fall to the gifts in their hands. “Somebody celebrating something today?”

“It’s for you. It was Steve’s idea,” Wanda admits. Natasha raises an eyebrow at him.

“I figured, being on the run, you still deserve a little something.” It was one way Steve could make up for them, landing in this situation in the first place. Plus, Natasha had given up so much for them, for him. She deserved more than what they had with them.

Natasha’s smile softens, as she takes the three of them in. “Thanks.”

Wanda bounds forward, eagerly announcing, “Open mine first.” Natasha opens the paper bag to reveal an olive-green beanie Wanda had knitted. Steve recalled how many times Wanda had tirelessly worked, resolving not to use her powers to make it more special. After many attempts and coaxing, Wanda had managed to produce it.

Natasha proudly puts it on her head, before gently squeezing Wanda’s hand. “Thank you,” she tells the young girl. Wanda lays her head on Natasha’s shoulder, who squeezes her.

Sam strides forward. “Happy Birthday, Romanoff.” He greets her, a bright grin plastered on his face. Steve bites his lip, grateful that his beard conceals his attempts to stifle his laughter. He had known what Sam picked out, and he thought it was both hilarious and heartwarming at the same time.

“Seriously, Wilson?” Natasha has her finger hooked on the handle of a mug that reads _World’s #1 Mom._

“Thought it would be better than drinking whatever dirty mugs we find the next time we move.” Sam shrugs. “Plus, I figured, looking out for all of us here, it just fits.” He waves at the mug.

Steve notices the subtle shift in Natasha’s expression: one that says she’s reining in tears. However, she lightly shoves Sam, but her smile is sincere enough for the man to reply, “You’re welcome.”

She turns expectedly to Steve, who gently sets down the tray containing his present and the cake they had made for her. “Happy birthday, Nat.”

Nat reaches for the paper roll, her breath hitching as she unrolls the paper to reveal a drawing Steve had made with the pencils and sketchbook the team had gifted him. It had been one of those little pockets of air when they could breathe in between taking down HYDRA and moving on to another undisclosed location.

They had a pit stop at a hidden beach in Greece, where she donned a bikini (Steve took one look at her and said, “You look terrible.” That had earned him a smug smirk) and spent the day on the beach while Sam had gone to tour the place and Wanda had gone to the local market. One look at the blissful, contented expression on her face, and Steve started sketching the curve of her lips, the relaxed posture of her body, and the bright spark in her eyes. Sometimes, he wonders if it’s the super serum that enables him to notice these little details or the fact that he’s spent years with her that he’s come to appreciate those little bits of _her_.

“Steve, this is…wow,” she breathes out before chuckling. “Congrats, Rogers, you’ve done the impossible.” She meets his eyes, a full-blown smile on her face. “You’ve rendered me, speechless.” 

And Steve takes pride in the fact that they don't have much, being on the run, but he can still do something good for her.


	4. In sickness and in health

Dust clouded his vision, and Steve is unable to breathe. The sky is a blood orange, ashes swirling around him. He coughs, calling out the names of his friends.

“Bucky! Sam! Natasha! Tony! Wanda! Natasha! Vision! Natasha! NATASHA!” He cries for each of them, but none answer. The distressed screams ring in his ears, louder due to his sensitive hearing. He clenches his teeth, refusing to fall to his knees. He would not yield; he couldn’t.

_Gone._

_Gone._

_Gone._

_We’ll do that together too._

_Oh God._

_Steve?_

Sam nowhere to be found. Wanda disintegrating before his very eyes, leaning over Vision’s mangled body.

The resounding silence and everything become too much for him. His knees buckle, and he falls to the ground: the picture of a defeated man.  

“Steve!” A voice calls, and he grasps at the familiarity. The warmth of the sound washes over him, enough to rouse him from his dream. His shirt is soaked with sweat, and his hands fisted in his sheets.

Beside him, someone says his name. “Breathe for me, Rogers. Come on.” A hand touches his, and Steve feels the heat burn into him; he welcomes it. “Breathe, Steve. In and out.” He listens to the voice, slowing his breathing down until he gains a steady beat. He turns his head to find Natasha staring at him.

“Nat.” The relief is evident in his voice. He cups her cheeks, pressing his forehead down to hers. “You’re here.” Tears slide down his cheeks, though he is unsure if it’s because of the joy of having her here with him or the grief he feels at having failed their family.

“I’m not going away any time soon. You’re kinda stuck with me,” Natasha tells him, holding onto his hands. A strangled chuckle emerges from his throat.

“I can live with that,” he whispers. They hold each other until the morning light.


	5. Until death do us part

Steve arrives in the snowy wasteland of Vormir. He shivers, but it isn’t as cold as the ice that had encased him for seventy years. Hefting the Soul Stone in the briefcase, he climbs the mountain. As he does, all he can think about is Natasha. She had stuck by him, even when she had no reason to do so. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to her: his partner in all the ways that counted.

 _We do our best work after the fact._ For once, Steve agreed with Tony. Honouring Peggy, fighting for Bucky, saying goodbye to Natasha, it was all done after the fact. He always waited too long.

“Steve, son of Sarah,” a familiar voice calls out to him. Steve sees a cloaked figure floating towards him. His eyes widen at the sight of his old enemy.

“Schmidt,” Steve growls, readying himself for a fight. However, Red Skull merely shakes his head.

“I do not wish to fight you, Captain. Those days are long gone,” Red Skull says. Steve frowns but lowers his guard just a little. 

“That which you seek has already been taken,” his former enemy says.

“I know. I’m here to return it.”

Red Skull stares at him impassively. “This is an occurrence I have never witnessed. Many have failed to obtain the stone, and only two have succeeded.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Steve retorts. “I just ask for one thing: that I may be allowed to bring back Natasha’s body.”

Red Skull shakes his head. “I am afraid that is not possible, Captain. When the Soul Stone was obtained, all of her was taken in its place.”

Steve bows his head, knowing that this had been a possible outcome, but that did not mean it hurt any less. Gripping the briefcase harder, he asks, “Where do I return it?”

Red Skull leads him to a precipice, and Steve peers down, trying to imagine Natasha making that final trip. He has an idea of what she was thinking: of them, her family. A tear slips down his face as he thinks about how he must have let her down. The Civil War, going on the run. He tore that family apart.

Another tear slips down her cheek; the world wouldn’t know how much she had given. How she sought to wipe away the red in her ledger so that others could come home and the world would be safe. If only she knew how she was so much more than her past. How she had been almost everything for everyone: a friend, a sister, an aunt, an agent, an ally, a leader, a hero, a mother, even a lover.  

Steve walks over to the edge, the Soul Stone in his hand. It does not hurt to hold; in fact, it provides warmth amongst the cold he currently faces. He cannot hold on forever; it’s too bad he’s terrible at letting go.

He sits on the cliff, and he turns around to find that Red Skull is not there. At least he gets to say his goodbyes in private.

“Hey Nat, I’m…I’m here.” _Where you died._ “I saved you for last; the other stones are back where they belong. We won. We won; thanks to you.” His smile is bittersweet. Another tear slips down his cheek.

“We held a funeral for you, you know. Everybody talked about how you were there for them in different ways. Guess your skillset can be used for good.” It was one of the things about Nat’s duality. While her emotional connections could be used to extract and manipulate targets, she had used it to build relationships with others, including him. She didn’t need to wipe the red in her ledger; the links she had with them were enough proof of her soul.

“You know, of all the titles awarded to you, something was missing.” He bows his head. “I once said that the simple life, and everything that came with it, wasn’t for me. Turns out, in your own way, you gave me that: stability; you were with me from the beginning. HYDRA, Ultron, even during the Accords. Family: I had the Avengers, then I had the Rogues. I even had that again during this whole time heist. Nat, you were always there.

“You were my best friend, my partner.” Steve gently strokes the Stone. “You…you were my wife.” He holds it out over the cliff. “I know we never made it official, but it’s true, Nat. Everything you’ve done for me, what you’ve been to me. You were my wife in every sense of the word.” He closes his eyes, reliving Natasha’s last words.

_See you in a minute._

“Thank you.” He then drops the stone into the abyss.


	6. I promise to honor and love you all the days of my life

“I promise to love and honour you all the days of my life,” Steve recites, his eyes gleaming with happiness as he recited those words towards the woman before him. She smiles, and she could never look more radiant.

“May I have the rings?” The priest before them asks. Steve nods, before sliding the ring over her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

“And with this ring, I thee finally wed,” she recites, sliding a ring over his. It fit him perfectly.

“And with the power vested in me by the Catholic Church, I now pronounce you, husband and wife.” With that, Steve sweeps her into his arms, giving her a long, overdue kiss.

“May I present to you, Mr and Mrs Steve Rogers!” the priest announces.

“Finally!” Sam shouts, garnering laughter from everyone gathered. Bucky shakes his head, but his smile shows just how happy he is for his brother. Wanda uses her powers to create a shower of rose petals over the new couple. Clint lets out a cheer from his place, while Tony blows out a whistle. Thor wipes his tears with a handkerchief, while Bruce nods, knowing that this is how it’s meant to end. Everyone else claps hard as Steve races down the aisle, his bride’s hand in his.

The reception that night is fun as the assorted guests, including the intergalactic ones, gather together, celebrating another victory. But no one is as joyful as Steve when he leads his new bride onto the dance floor, their rings gleaming in the light.

“When did Captain America get so good at dancing?” she asks as he twirls her.

“1950’s,” he admits as he sways with her.

After his quest to return the Stones, Steve had paid a visit to an old friend, asking her if she could teach him how to dance. It was a perfect way to finally give Peggy that dance he owed and to tell her about the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with. Peggy was happy for him and had even told him about her husband, and how they were going to have a child soon. It had been the best goodbye he had ever gotten from her.

“So, I have to ask, but you don’t have to answer,” she teases.

“What?” he asks, though he’s not as annoyed this time.

“Was that your first kiss since 1945?”

“No.” He dips her gently, before bringing her back. “That was my first one since 2014.”

He could still remember it: waking up in that lake, the Stone gone from his hand, the words “When I wanted you to get a life, this wasn’t what I meant”, holding her in his arms, kissing her with everything he had, getting down on one knee and asking the question he owed to and wanted to ask her.

“And have you had practice since then?”

“I think I might need a little more,” he says, smirking.

“For how long?”

“How does forever sound to you?”

“It’s perfect,” Natasha tells him, smiling blissfully before pulling him down for another kiss.


End file.
